Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 234: Viewing a house? Building a house?
Since she was going to go house hunting with Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying, who always liked to sleep in, got up early the next morning. She ate the breakfast sent to her room in a few bites, and then took the two neatly dressed maids Zhan Jin and Liu Yin with her - on ordinary days, the lady would not allow her to show off with the maids, but today was different.
Zhan Jin and Liu Yin will definitely go with her to the Zhang family in the future. In this case, of course, she should let them see what the future house will be like, and give her and Zhang Shou some advice. On the contrary, she did not bring Zhu Hong and the guards who always followed her today, so as not to be too conspicuous when she went to see the house. For this reason, she and Zhan Jin and Liu Yin even changed into men's clothes.
However, when she and her two maids arrived at the back door, she found her second brother leaning against the door railing in a daze. When he saw her, he immediately came over with a big smile on his face. As soon as she saw his attentive expression, she knew that he was definitely waiting for her.
Thinking of the past when her second brother wanted to trick her, Zhu Ying immediately became alert: "Second brother, what are you going to do?"
"Good sister..." Zhu Er just finished speaking, and he saw Zhu Ying quickly took two steps back, her eyes full of caution, and he was immediately annoyed. Whenever he wanted to ask Zhu Ying to do something, he would usually start with these three words. After a while, Zhu Ying had already seen through his little trick, and it was even more difficult to deceive her now.
"I'm just curious... ahem, curious about what kind of house my future brother-in-law plans to buy." Of course, the most important thing is that after dinner yesterday, Zhu Er finally found out from Zhu Ying that the new spinning machine that was making a lot of noise in the capital yesterday was invented by Zhang Shou - he initially thought it was a rumor. Thinking of the benefits that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu got from it, he was simply envious and jealous.
Such a good thing happened, but Zhang Shou didn't even help his future uncle. He is so disloyal!
"If you're curious, wait until Ah Shou and I have chosen a house. Why are you so anxious now?" Zhu Ying glared at her second brother in a displeased tone. Seeing that Zhu Er was still not giving up, she suddenly realized, "I see. What curiosity? You must be complaining that Ah Shou didn't think of you when he had something good to offer... Don't worry, I've already told Ah Shou that I'll definitely take you with me next time I have something good to offer!"
After a pause, Miss Zhu said with a wicked smile , "Besides, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu will get married soon. If they don't make some money, how will they support their families in the future? There's no news about your marriage yet, so why are you in such a hurry? Besides, our family is not without money, so why should you be so obsessed with money?"
Zhu Er was in tears. Our Zhu family is quite rich, but I am a pauper! All my savings can't even afford to buy your sister a piece of jewelry! Even the few jade pendants that my grandmother gave to my eldest daughter were kept tightly by her, as if I was a prodigal who would sell things because I had no money to spend...
"Be obedient and stay at home. I will pick a good second sister-in-law for you later!"
Zhu Ying's tone was like coaxing a child, but seeing Zhu Er's pitiful look nodding obediently, she couldn't help but smile slightly when she thought of the emperor personally acting as a matchmaker for her second brother to the niece of Wang Jie, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.
Although Wang Jie's attitude at the beginning should have meant that he was not very satisfied with the choice of the second brother, but the second brother has the heart but not the courage to commit a crime, and now he has restrained himself a lot more than before. If Zhang Shou can teach the second brother well like he taught Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang, and Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, this marriage may have great hope. People like the second brother need a powerful wife to take good care of him!
Leaving her second brother who wanted to be a follower at home, Zhu Ying took Zhan Jin and Liu Yin out the back door. After walking a few steps, they arrived at the Zhang family next door. Seeing that Ah Liu had already harnessed the car and was waiting there, she smiled and greeted him. Just as she was about to go in, she heard Ah Liu ask, "Miss, do you like more people or fewer people at home?"
Zhu Ying knew that Ah Liu didn't like to talk in front of others, but every time she asked Ah Liu something, he would always tell her everything he knew. Over time, she got used to this special treatment. At this time, although she was a little surprised by Ah Liu's question, she still thought about it carefully, and then smiled and said, "I don't think it matters if there are many people or few people."
Liu Yin, who was standing by, couldn't help but interrupt and said, "But we have a big family, and it's lively when there are many people. Isn't Miss the one who likes lively places the most?"
"It has to be lively with family. Didn't our family have a traitor before?" Zhu Ying snorted unhappily. Seeing that Liu Yin didn't dare to say anything, she looked at Ah Liu and smiled, "As long as we know each other well, it doesn't matter if there are many or few people. But when Ah Shou moves to a bigger house, the Zhang family will have to add some more people."
"Otherwise, how can Ah Shou and Aunt Wu handle this?"
While Zhu Ying and Ah Liu were talking, Zhang Shou had already come out. Seeing Zhu Ying wearing men's clothes, carrying a sword, and without makeup on her face, she looked heroic and dashing. Zhan Jin and Liu Yin, who were of similar stature, were also wearing tight-fitting sky-blue jackets like twin brothers, revealing a bit of fierceness. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yingying, look at the way you are dressed, how come you look like you are going to fight with me?"
"Isn't it to protect you? Who made you so capable and so good at...causing trouble?" Zhu Ying said the word "causing trouble" softly, but her eyebrows and eyes were full of smiles. "Besides, if Zhu Hong and the others are not following us, we certainly can't be too conspicuous and need to keep a low profile."
After saying this, Ah Liu got on the shaft of the cart and sat down seriously, with his eyes straight ahead, as if to say that he agreed and said, "I won't say anything." Liu Yin and Zhan Jin looked at each other, both of them were confused. If an unmarried couple from another family traveled like this, they would certainly keep a low profile. The problem is that you, young lady, don't even look at your beautiful face, nor do you look at your husband's appearance!
When the two of you walk together, you're so stunning that everyone would take a second look. How can you be low-key?
Regardless of whether Zhang Shou believed Zhu Ying's low-key statement or not, since the young lady had come out dressed like this, he certainly would not be picky about her clothes, and immediately invited the three of them, the master and the servant, to get on the carriage. When the carriage was on the way, he said, "I think I will have to be a doctor of the Imperial College for a few more years, so I told Ah Liu before that I should try to buy a house in the North City, and look at three houses today."
As he spoke, he smiled and said, "A Liu has already gone to see them one by one. He said that they are all large houses with two corridors and three entrances. The previous owners were officials, but later they retired, became unemployed, or were dismissed from office and demoted, and the houses became vacant..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Ying immediately shouted, "Has there ever been an official dismissed or demoted? That's absolutely not okay, it's too unlucky! Oh, I forgot one important thing. We should first ask a Feng Shui master to look at each of our houses. Otherwise, if the Feng Shui is not good and affects your future, wouldn't that be a disaster?"
Zhang Shou immediately laughed. Feng Shui is something that you would rather believe in than not believe in. After all, he himself had encountered the most mysterious thing in the world, so he would never mention superstition again. But he didn't want a Feng Shui master to come between him and Zhu Ying today, so he said nonchalantly, "Let's finish our inspection first, then we can ask the Feng Shui master to come and see us."
Just as he finished speaking, Ah Liu's voice came from outside: "No need, I asked someone to check it out."
Huh? When did Ah Liu become so professional? He even brought a Feng Shui master with him when he was looking at a house? Although this guy is good at fighting, will he be fooled when it comes to Feng Shui?
Zhang Shou was feeling suspicious, but he heard the young man driving outside seriously add: "Otherwise, what if you buy a haunted house?"
Zhu Ying was fine, but Zhang Shou had personally experienced the old incident of Guan Qiu being grabbed by the feet and dragged out of the dog hole by Xiao Cheng, and he couldn't help laughing. Zhu Ying had also heard about that old incident, and immediately said angrily: "A Liu, those three houses were all told to you by the Feng Shui master as good? Aren't you afraid that he is lying to you! Besides, the house that the Feng Shui master praised so much, the master might take the opportunity to raise the price!"
"No one can deceive me." Ah Liu said this with great confidence, "Even the brokers dare not raise the price!"
In this matter, the madman gave him a good example. With a reputation for being a ruthless person, it was often easier to get things done. In order to prevent others from plotting against Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying in the future, he also had to be a little more ruthless... Of course, he had to recruit a few more people. When the family grew bigger in the future, this small number of people would definitely not be enough.
We can't let the house be filled with people from Duke Zhao's Mansion in the future. Then who will be the Zhu family or the Zhang family?
"Ah Liu is so domineering!" Zhu Ying had no idea that Ah Liu had so many thoughts in his mind. She smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed. "Then I'll rely on you. After Ah Shou and I have looked at the house, we'll also rely on you for the deal. Ah Shou may be smart, but he doesn't have the time. God knows if those unscrupulous businessmen will cheat us!"
"Okay!" Ah Liu agreed firmly, "I'm here, don't worry, Miss!"
Not to mention Zhang Shou's eyes widened when he heard this, wondering who this kid belongs to. Even Zhan Jin and Liu Yin couldn't help but secretly laugh . Not to mention that Ah Liu is now the master who teaches the second young master martial arts, and the lady specifically asked the second young master to call him "Sixth Brother", it's amazing that Ah Liu learned the lady's sword skills without making a sound.
But such a taciturn young master, just like the son-in-law, is obedient to the eldest lady!
Then everyone chatted along the way, and when the carriage finally stopped, Zhu Ying lifted the curtain and saw that it was a rather quiet alley, and her eyes flickered. When she got off the carriage first and stopped, she couldn't help but look at the white walls and black tiles, and gradually frowned.
"This seems to be the style of Huizhou... Could it be that the original owner of this place was from Huizhou? Could it be that he built this house himself, instead of buying it from the previous owner?"
Zhang Shou also recognized the horse-head wall that was at least four people high, so he smiled and said, "It's probably true."
Because the salt industry is no longer a monopoly, and the court's military farming on the border is quite effective under its iron-fisted supervision, the Huizhou merchants these days are not as wealthy as those who monopolized the salt industry in the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, they still show outstanding talent in running silver shops, money houses and various other businesses.
More importantly, the Huizhou people love to study, and this is still the case in this dynasty. In the number of Jinshi candidates in Nanzhili every year, Huizhou Prefecture always ranks among the top three. In this case, the Huizhou people are naturally a large group among the Beijing officials.
No one knew what Ah Liu had agreed with the broker. After Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying, and Zhan Jinliuyin got off the car, he took the key and went forward to open the door. But when he opened the door, the others were gradually surprised. Ah Liu held two keys in his hand and first opened a heavy iron-clad wooden door, then the second wooden door. After entering, everyone found that there were two pits on the bluestone floor. According to Ah Liu, they were wooden pillars used to place the top door!
Zhan Jin and Liu Yin could not help but marvel at the complete anti-theft measures.
However, Zhu Ying couldn't help but look up at the narrow patio above her head, her face full of discomfort: "The walls are so high, and it's a two-story house, but the patio is so narrow. Isn't the light too dim? Although it's sunny more often than rainy in the north, once it's cloudy, don't we have to turn on the lights in the house even in broad daylight?"
Zhan Jin couldn't help but whispered, "Miss, we also light lights at home during the day..." It's not like we can't afford it!
Zhu Ying glared at Zhan Jin in anger: "But the smallest patio in our house is three or four times as big as this one! Why do you have to build the wall so high and leave such a small patio? It feels too depressing!"
When Zhang Shou heard Zhu Ying's tone, he knew that the eldest lady's personality and temperament were the same as the square, spacious and bright courtyard of Duke Zhao's Mansion. She probably didn't like this Hui-style building with a distinctive local style.
He was very fond of the white walls and black tiles, and immediately asked Ah Liu to take Zhu Ying to look around. After Zhu Ying had seen several exquisite wood carvings, her initial picky look turned into surprise. He then smiled and explained, "Huizhou has many merchants and officials, and the men in the family are officials or businessmen, so there are often only the elderly, women and children at home. These high walls and deep wells can at least keep out villains."
"As for the high walls that you dislike for blocking the light, they can not only prevent theft, but also fire..." Zhang Shou continued to explain for a few more sentences, and when he turned his head again, he found Zhu Ying whispering with Zhan Jinliuyin.
In the end, Zhu Ying gave him an expected answer: "The house is quite big, and the wood carvings are really beautiful, which shows how much effort the previous owner put into building the house. But I don't like high walls. Besides, even if you are not here, I am still at home. Which robber would dare to knock on our door? Well, Ah Shou, let's go to another house and have a look!"
However, after visiting the second and third houses, Zhu Ying found more faults. After all, the backyard of the Duke of Zhao's mansion was redesigned and renovated according to her requirements, which showed her good taste. Now she was a few years older than before, and these houses were at most the residence of a fourth-rank official, so the layout was naturally limited. How could she be interested in them?
After finally getting into the car in a depressed mood, she suddenly looked at Zhang Shou seriously: "Ah Shou, why don't we just buy a piece of land, draw up a blueprint ourselves, and hire someone to build a house! We can work together and do a good job slowly!"
Zhang Shou was stunned at first, then he couldn't help laughing. Other people's husbands and wives do decoration work together, but they are husbands and wives building a house together?
